Maestra of the Escuelita

Jenny took my heart,

The fourteen month Zapatista girl.

Jenny took one step, gained momentum

And fell into the loving lap of the EZLN.

Jenny stretched out her arms

Finding balance in Chiapas’s muddy mountains.

Jenny plopped flat on her rear

Only to find in the kernels on the corn cob

A multitude of companeros y companeras.

Jenny walked again across the hard, earth floor,

Flirting with the gringo tata from the Great Lakes.

O Jenny, Jenny, Jenny!

Maestra of the escuelita!

“Rattle, rattle” go the helicopter blades.

“Clink, clink” fall the coins at the shops.

“Honk, honk” go the cars in the traffic jam.

Oh Jenny I have a headache again.

Jenny won’t you dance with me?

Peter Linebaugh teaches history at the University of Toledo. The London Hanged and (with Marcus Rediker) The Many-Headed Hydra: the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic. His essay on the history of May Day is included in Serpents in the Garden. His latest book is the Magna Carta Manifesto. He can be reached at:plineba@yahoo.com

Peter Linebaugh is the author of The London HangedThe Many-Headed Hydra: the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic (with Marcus Rediker) and Magna Carta Manifesto. Linebaugh’s latest book is Red Round Globe Hot Burning. He can be reached at: plineba@gmail.com